What are Vaccines for HIV Prevention and Therapy? Today there are no HIV vaccines which can prevent HIV infection. All of the candidates being studied are in the experimental stage. Preventive vaccine candidates are being tested in HIV-negative people. Some of these candidates are being tested to see if they can prevent infection. Other candidates are being tested to see if they lower viral load in people who receive the vaccine before becoming HIV infected but can learn to partially fight the resulting infection.
Preventive Vaccine Investment In 2009, total global investment in HIV vaccine R&D was US$868 million, the same level as 2008. Public-sector funders provided 86% (US$746 million) of those investments, the philanthropic sector 11% (US$92 million) and the commercial sector 3% (US$30 million). Public agencies and institutions dominate R&D funding for HIV vaccines. Four countries (China, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States) invested more than US$10 million each of public-sector funds in 2008, and eight countries invested more than US$1 million each. The United Kingdom was the second-largest funder after the US, with US$24 million invested in 2009. The US increased its funding by 5% but this was primarily due to stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The philanthropic sector accounted for US$92 million or about 11% of the total funds disbursed for HIV Vaccine R&D in 2009. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation accounted for 83% of all philanthropic investments.
Commercial sector investments (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) remained level in 2009 at US$30 million.
Preventive Vaccine Expenditures For 2008, spending by the public and philanthropic sectors on preventive HIV vaccine R&D was allocated to five categories. The categories with the largest shares were basic research (29%) and pre-clinical research (37%). The others were support for clinical trials (23%), cohort and site development (10%) and advocacy and policy development (<1%). Basic research investment increased 19% from 2007 to 2008, while pre-clinical research investment decreased by 28% over the same period. Preclinical research, basic research and clinical trials saw increases in funding for 2009, with preclinical research seeing the largest percentage change of 16%.
Therapeutic Vaccine Investment A therapeutic HIV vaccine would be a vaccine used to treat HIV infection in HIV-positive individuals. Therapeutic HIV vaccines are designed to enhance immune response to HIV to better control the infection. Therapeutic HIV vaccine research started in the early 1990s, with several trials in the US and Europe. Currently, there are no approved therapeutic HIV vaccines. However, vaccines are being tested in clinical trials with HIV-positive individuals.
Therapeutic HIV vaccine R&D received an estimated US$39 million in 2009, with the US contributing 36% and Europe, in particular the European Commission and European funders, contributing 17%.
N.B. Figures and Tables are taken from the report Advancing the Science in a Time of Fiscal Constraint: Funding for HIV Prevention Technologies in 2009.
